1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shoplift alarming device for preventing or suppressing shoplifting or pilferage of an item or article for sale.
2. Description of the Background Art
Various structures have been proposed for shoplift alarming devices which are used for preventing or suppressing pilferage of articles, e.g., displayed in a shop.
For example, a shoplift alarming device having an article-attachment portion to be attached to an article for sale has been proposed. This article-attachment portion has a switch having a contact, which opens and closes in accordance with a movable piece, as well as a casing accommodating the switch. This shoplift alarming device can issue an alarm in accordance with open-closed state of the contact of the switch.
The movable piece of above shoplift alarming device can move between the inside and the outside the casing, and is biased to project outward from the casing when it is not subjected to any force. The open-closed state of the contact of the switch relates to the position of the movable piece.
When the movable piece is pushed into the casing, the contact of the switch is in the closed state. When the movable piece is projected outward from the casing by the biasing force, the contact is open.
The article-attachment portion is attached to the article by a double-coated adhesive tape or the like so as that the movable piece is pushed into the casing for closing the contact of the switch.
When the article is pilfered or moved, and the article-attachment portion is removed from the article, the biased movable piece projects outward from the casing, and thereby the contact of the switch is opened, and thereby the alarm is issued, and therefore the pilferage of the article is prevented or suppressed.
However, the shoplift alarming device of the above type cannot issue the alarm, and therefore cannot prevent pilferage of the article, if the article-attachment portion is detached or removed from the article after the movable piece is held not to project outward from the casing by pushing or inserting a thin film, such as a knife blade or a resin plate, into a position between the article-attachment portion and the article, and thereby, after the contact of the switch is set not to become in the open state.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a shoplift alarming device, in which a movable piece is biased, in a returnable fashion, to project outward from a casing, an article-attachment portion has a switch provided with a contact to be opened and closed in accordance with movement of the movable piece, the movable piece is pushed into the casing when the article-attachment portion is attached to the article, and an alarm is issued in accordance with the open-closed state of the contact of the switch. In particular, the object of the invention is to provide the shoplift alarming device, in which the alarm can be issued for preventing or suppressing pilferage of the article even when someone attempts to detach the article-attachment portion from the article after a thin film, such as a knife blade, a thin plate or the like, is inserted into a position between the article-attachment portion and the article to prevent the movable piece from projecting outward from the casing.
The invention provides a shoplift alarming device comprising:
(1) one or more article-attachment portions each including
a casing having an article-attachment surface to be attached to an article, and
a switch provided in the casing, and having a contact and a movable piece being returnably biased to project outward from the article-attachment surface of the casing, the contact being configured to be closed when the movable piece is pushed toward an inside of the casing and to be opened when the movable piece is projected outward from the article-attachment surface by the biasing force;
(2) one or more cords each having
a main lead line pair formed of first and second main lead lines connected to respective terminals of the contact of the switch of the article-attachment portion, and
a sub-lead line extending along the first and second main lead lines;
(3) a cord connecting portion including a plurality of terminal portions each having
a pair of primary terminals for connection with ends, remote from the switch, of the first and second main lead lines of the cord,
one secondary terminal for connection with an end, remote from the switch, of the sub-lead line,
a pair of main terminals formed by a series connection of the plurality of primary terminal pairs, and
one sub-terminal connected to the respective secondary terminals; and
(4) a monitoring portion having
a main alarm,
a first main alarm drive circuit for activating the main alarm when a path between the main terminals of the cord connecting portion is electrically open, and
a second main alarm drive circuit for activating the main alarm when the main terminals of the cord connecting portion are short-circuited, furthermore when the sub-terminal and the main terminal are short-circuited;
wherein
the article-attachment portion is provided at the article-attachment surface of the casing with
an electrode exposed at the article-attachment surface and electrically connected to one of the first and second main lead lines (or the sub-lead line), and
an electrically conductive adhesive film electrically connected to the sub-lead line (or one of the first and second main lead lines), and disposed at a region of the article-attachment surface other than the electrode and the movable piece.
The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.